Thursday, September 19, 2013

Nagra, White Goddess of the Blue Pygmies debuts today in a
thriller titled “Jungle Justice” from Terrors of the Jungle #10 (Sept. 1954);
originally released by Star Publications. The story which introduces Nagra was
written and illustrated by Jay Disbrow. The
Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus" as the source of this
classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and
artwork belongs to the original publishers and/or the creators and is
reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Zegra returns to the Catacombs today in a fun adventure called "The Black Pool" from Zegra, Jungle Empress #4 (Feb.1949); originally published by Fox Feature Syndicate. There are no identified creator credits available. The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus" as the source of this classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belongs to the original publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Today we’re continuing with the space adventures theme that began
with my last story post. The Red Comet makes his final appearance in “The
Slasher” which is taken from Planet Comics #69 (Winter 1952);
originally published by Fiction House, written by Cy Thatcher and illustrated
by Rudy Palais. It must be mentioned that although this is chronologically the
last appearance of this character, this story is in fact a reprint from Planet
#20[previously issued a decade earlier]. The Catacombs acknowledges
"Comic Book Plus" as the source of this classic comic story. Note:
The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork belongs to the original
publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment
purposes.Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The 2013 Baltimore Comic-Con occupies two conjoined halls in the city's nice convention center, and this year they really packed those rooms to the gills. Sheesh, were there ever a mother's ton of attendees. Now, if only the bulk of them could manage to be a little more courteous to others in their zeal to get around the convention floor. I was repeatedly bodyslammed from one side of the aisle to another throughout both days of the show, a phenomenon that I have unfortunately come to expect from Baltimore over the three years that I have visited that show. It's too bad really, as otherwise this is a really fun convention. That is not a reflection on the organizers or guests, just an unruly upper seaboard level of crassness that offends my Southern sensibilities. Adding insult to injury, I typically stop, cede ground, or try to move out of the way as necessary; and even then sons of bitches still kept plowing into me. By the time that I finally threw in the towel on both days, I admit to having tipped over into being full blown angry at the common herd.

Oh, well! Despite that unfortunate experience, it was extremely gratifying to finally meet Ramona Fradon, Brian Bolland, Don McGregor, Ron Randall, and several other guests who were in attendance; plus seeing many more comics industry favorites all over again is always a plus. I only managed to get about half of the items signed that I took with me, and then opted out of attempting the rest solely to minimize the amount of time spent standing static on the cruel concrete flooring. I picked up a small handful of bronze age books to flesh out my collection, and picked up a few additional items. This year I shelled out the most cash to have Jimmy Cheung illustrate my blank white variant cover of Marvel's Infinity #1. I didn't select a subject, and simply left that up to the artist, and he returned a spectacular Captain America (current costume design), which lived up to my expectations.

This year my brother David, our pal Burt, and I took in a few new Baltimore places and activities that we hadn't previously, and then all too soon had to head back to the Carolina's. I've included a few random photos for your edification. Enjoy!

Friday, September 6, 2013

I will be out flying from South Carolina to Maryland this evening to spend the weekend at the 2013 Baltimore Comic-Con. This will be my third consecutive visit to this fun show, and there's plenty of industry guests to get excited about: Neal Adams, Ken Bald, Brian Bolland, Sal Buscema, Jimmy Cheung, Frank Cho, Amanda Conner, Ramona Fradon, Ron Frenz, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Keith Giffen, Michael Golden, Adam Hughes, Mike Mignola, George Perez, Ivan Reis, Stan Sakai, Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, Herb Trimpe, and Bill Willingham just for starters. This year writer/director/actor Kevin Smith brings his AMC series," Comic Book Men" to Baltimore to film scenes for an upcoming episode too! Wish me luck in getting my small stack of classic back issues signed by those talented folks in attendance; although the fact that I sprung for the VIP admittance package might help out with that goal. See you next week with some fun details!﻿﻿﻿

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Babylon 5 originallypremiered on February 22, 1993 [pilot], and the regular series initially
aired from January 26, 1994 through November 25, 1998. B5 launched an era of
television CGI visual effects and in the process earned multiple awards during
its initial run, including two consecutive Hugo Awards for best dramatic
presentation, several Emmys and Saturn awards, and continues to regularly
figure prominently in various polls and listings highlighting top-rated science
fiction series. Set between the years 2258 and 2262, it depicts a future where
Earth has sovereign states, and a unifying Eartgov. Today let’s take a few
moments to remember the talented cast members (both major, minor, and
recurring) who have passed away since the show ended: Michael O’Hare (Commander
Jeffrey Sinclair); Andreas Katsulas (Ambassador G’Kar); Richard Biggs (Dr.
Stephen Franklin); Jeff Conaway (Zack Allen); plus Robin Sachs (various) and
Tim Choate (Zathras).

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Today I didn’t strangle, shoot, run over, explode, demolish,
defame, or otherwise destroy any of the vast army of assholes that have been
irritating the living shit out of me lately; but I refuse to DENY that they
exist (having contributed to the birth of some of them). Therefore an “outside
the box” kind of silver age story is called for (in order to lighten my foul
mood). Captain Kiddeo stars in “Space Bum” which is taken from Strange Journey
#3 (Feb. 1958); originally published by Ajax-Farrell and illustrated
[supposedly] by the Iger Shop gang. The Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book
Plus" as the source of this classic comic story. Note: The copyright
for this issue, its contents and artwork belongs to the original publishers
and/or the creators and is reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!